U.S. patent number 10,529,312 [Application Number 16/457,546] was granted by the patent office on 2020-01-07 for system and method for delivering dynamic user-controlled musical accompaniments.
This patent grant is currently assigned to APPCOMPANIST, LLC. The grantee listed for this patent is Appcompanist, LLC. Invention is credited to Darin Adams, Christopher Deppe.
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United States Patent |
10,529,312 |
Adams , et al. |
January 7, 2020 |
System and method for delivering dynamic user-controlled musical
accompaniments
Abstract
A system and method for delivering dynamic user-controlled
musical accompaniments, utilizing a computing device with a
graphical user interface, an application running on said device,
optionally using peripheral external or integrated devices, and a
variety of controls to dynamically alter the playback of a
pre-recorded accompaniment track, saving the altered accompaniment
track for later use, and for sharing with other users via a cloud
service engine, if desired.
Inventors: |
Adams; Darin (New York, NY),
Deppe; Christopher (Kensington, CA) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Appcompanist, LLC |
New York |
NY |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
APPCOMPANIST, LLC (New York,
NY)
|
Family
ID: |
69058614 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/457,546 |
Filed: |
June 28, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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62789131 |
Jan 7, 2019 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G10H
1/366 (20130101); G10H 1/40 (20130101); G10H
1/42 (20130101); G10H 1/365 (20130101); G10H
1/46 (20130101); G10H 2210/091 (20130101); G10H
2210/005 (20130101); G10H 2210/385 (20130101); G10H
2240/181 (20130101); G10H 2220/101 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G10H
1/36 (20060101); G10H 1/40 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;84/609,612,636,652 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1994028539 |
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Dec 1994 |
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WO |
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2003009295 |
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Jan 2003 |
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WO |
|
Primary Examiner: Donels; Jeffrey
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Galvin; Brian R. Galvin Patent Law,
LLC
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Current application date filed herewith Jan. 7, 2019 title LARGE
SCALE RADIO FREQUENCY SIGNAL INFORMATION PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS
SYSTEM which claims benefit of and priority to Ser. No. 62/789,131
Method for Recording, Delivering and Customizing Playback of
Musical Accompaniments the entire specification of each of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A system for delivering user-controlled musical accompaniments,
comprising: an accompaniment application comprising at least first
plurality of programming instructions stored in a first memory and
operating on a first processor, wherein the first plurality of
programming instructions, when operating on the first processor,
cause the first processor to: receive accompaniment music in music
information format comprising musical notes and a first tempo;
allow a user to initiate a first playback of the accompaniment
music at the first tempo using a graphical user interface; provide
one or more controls on the graphical user interface for the user
to control one or more aspects of the playback of the accompaniment
music in real time; wherein the one or more controls comprise a
fermata button which, when pressed during playback of the
accompaniment music, causes the first processor to: set a second
music tempo to at most 1/10.sup.th of the first tempo; continue to
sound currently audible notes at the second music tempo while the
fermata button is being held; and wherein the release of the
fermata button causes the processor to: identify all audio events
in the accompaniment music from the current play position to the
next note in the accompaniment track; implement each identified
audio event in sequence; resume playback at the next note in the
accompaniment track at the first tempo.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controls further
comprise a set marker button which, when pressed, causes the
processor to: record a location in the accompaniment music at which
a marker should be set; and store a marker indicating that
location.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the fermata button, when pressed
and then released while the accompaniment music is stopped, causes
the processor to: identify all audio events in the accompaniment
music from the current play position to the next note in the
accompaniment track; implement each identified audio event in
sequence; and start playback at the next note in the accompaniment
track.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controls further
comprise a tempo slider which, when moved, causes the processor to:
set a third music tempo to a value indicated on the tempo slider;
continue playback of the accompaniment music at the third tempo,
until the third tempo is canceled by the user; and resume playback
of the accompaniment music at the first tempo when the third tempo
is canceled by the user.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the accompaniment application
further allows the user to create customized versions of the
accompaniment music by: saving playback alterations to the
accompaniment music made by the user; allowing the user to play
back a customized version of the accompaniment music file,
comprising the accompaniment music as altered by the playback
alterations; and allowing the user to override the playback
alterations during playback of the customized version of the
accompaniment music by using the one or more controls on the
graphical user interface.
6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a cloud service engine
comprising at least a second processor, a second memory, and a
second plurality of programming instructions stored in the second
memory and operating on the second processor, wherein the second
programming instructions, when operating on the second processor,
cause the second processor to: communicate with the accompaniment
application; send to, and receive from, the accompaniment
application data comprising accompaniment music and playback
alterations to the accompaniment music; display, and allow
selection of, stored files by the accompaniment application;
display, and allow selection of, privacy settings for files
uploaded by the accompaniment application; and allow sharing of, or
sale of, files to other instances of the accompaniment application
owned by other users.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein peripheral devices are used
instead of, or in addition to, one or more of the controls on the
graphical user interface to control playback of the accompaniment
music.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controls further
comprise a melody blend slider which, when moved, causes the
processor to: select a melody track within the accompaniment music;
and and adjust the relative volume of the melody track and volume
of the accompaniment music without stopping playback of the
accompaniment music.
9. A method for delivering user-controlled musical accompaniments,
comprising the steps of: receiving accompaniment music in music
information format comprising musical notes; allowing a user to
initiate a first playback of the accompaniment music at a first
tempo using a graphical user interface; providing one or more
controls on the graphical user interface for the user to control
one or more aspects of the playback of the accompaniment music in
real time; wherein the one or more controls comprise a fermata
button which, when pressed, causes a device playing back the
accompaniment music to: set a second music tempo to at most
1/10.sup.th of the first tempo; continue to sound currently audible
notes at the second music tempo while the fermata button is being
held; and wherein the release of the fermata button causes the
device playing back the accompaniment music to: identify all audio
events in the accompaniment music from the current play position to
the next note in the accompaniment track; implement each identified
audio event in sequence; resume playback at a next note in the
accompaniment track at the first tempo.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more controls further
comprise a set marker button which, when pressed, causes the
processor to: record a location in the accompaniment music at which
a marker should be set; and store a marker indicating that
location.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the fermata button, when
pressed and released while the accompaniment music is stopped,
causes the processor to: identify all audio events in the
accompaniment music up to the current playhead position; implement
each identified audio event in sequence; and resume playback at the
next note in the accompaniment track following the current playhead
position at the first tempo.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more controls further
comprise a tempo slider which, when moved, causes the device
playing back the accompaniment music to: set a third music tempo to
a value indicated on the tempo slider; continue playback of the
accompaniment music at the third tempo, until the third tempo is
canceled by the user; and resume playback of the accompaniment
music at the first tempo when the third tempo is canceled by the
user.
13. The method of claim 9, comprising the further step of allowing
the user to create customized versions of the accompaniment music
by: saving playback alterations to the accompaniment music made by
the user; allowing the user to play back a customized version of
the accompaniment music file, comprising the accompaniment music as
altered by the playback alterations; and allowing a user to
override the playback alterations during playback of the customized
version of the accompaniment music by using the one or more
controls on the graphical user interface.
14. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:
communicating with the accompaniment application; sending to, and
receiving from, the accompaniment application data comprising
accompaniment music and playback alterations to the accompaniment
music; displaying, and allowing selection of, stored files by the
accompaniment application; displaying, and allowing selection of,
privacy settings for files uploaded by the accompaniment
application; and allowing sharing of, or sale of, files to other
instances of the accompaniment application owned by other
users.
15. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of using
peripheral devices instead of, or in addition to, one or more of
the controls on the graphical user interface to control playback of
the accompaniment music.
16. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of using a
melody blend slider to: select a melody track within the
accompaniment music; and adjust the volume of the melody track
relative to the volume of the accompaniment music without stopping
playback of the accompaniment music.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Art
The disclosure relates to the field of audio recording software,
more specifically to the field of voice accompaniment and playback
customization computer systems.
Discussion of the State of the Art
Professional singers and singers in training rely on live
accompanists (typically piano players) or recorded accompaniments
to provide musical support for their singing. They communicate the
musical changes they desire while singing (speed up, slow down,
hold and wait, etc.) to the live accompanists via gestures or looks
or indications within their singing. They do not have that luxury
with recorded accompaniments, so they simply try to follow what
they hear, but with less than desirable accuracy or musicality. In
some situations, a mentor or singing teacher may play an
accompaniment while teaching, or record a version within the lesson
for the student to use later in practice. But in all these
situations, the services of the live accompanist are very
expensive, and the recorded substitutes do not give the singer the
necessary control to fine tune their interpretation of the
song.
What is needed is a system and method for delivering dynamic
user-controlled musical accompaniments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a preferred embodiment, a system for delivering
user-controlled musical accompaniments is disclosed, comprising: an
accompaniment application comprising at least first plurality of
programming instructions stored in a first memory and operating on
a first processor, wherein the first plurality of programming
instructions, when operating on the first processor, cause the
first processor to: receive accompaniment music in music
information format comprising musical notes and a first tempo;
allow a user to initiate a first playback of the accompaniment
music at the first tempo using a graphical user interface; provide
one or more controls on the graphical user interface for the user
to control one or more aspects of the playback of the accompaniment
music in real time; wherein the one or more controls comprise a
fermata button which, when pressed during playback of the
accompaniment music, causes the first processor to: set a second
music tempo to at most 1/10.sup.th of the first tempo; continue to
sound currently audible notes at the second music tempo while the
fermata button is being held; and wherein the release of the
fermata button causes the processor to: identify all audio events
in the accompaniment music from the current play position to the
next note in the accompaniment track; implement each identified
audio event in sequence; resume playback at the next note in the
accompaniment track at the first tempo.
According to another preferred embodiment, a method for delivering
user-controlled musical accompaniments is disclosed, comprising the
steps of: receiving accompaniment music in music information format
comprising musical notes; allowing a user to initiate a first
playback of the accompaniment music at a first tempo using a
graphical user interface; providing one or more controls on the
graphical user interface for the user to control one or more
aspects of the playback of the accompaniment music in real time;
wherein the one or more controls comprise a fermata button which,
when pressed, causes a device playing back the accompaniment music
to: set a second music tempo to at most 1/10.sup.th of the first
tempo; continue to sound currently audible notes at the second
music tempo while the fermata button is being held; and wherein the
release of the fermata button causes the device playing back the
accompaniment music to: identify all audio events in the
accompaniment music from the current play position to the next note
in the accompaniment track; implement each identified audio event
in sequence; resume playback at a next note in the accompaniment
track at the first tempo.
According to an aspect of an embodiment, the one or more controls
further comprise a set marker button which, when pressed, causes
the processor to: record a location in the accompaniment music at
which a marker should be set; and store a marker indicating that
location.
According to an aspect of an embodiment, the fermata button, when
pressed and then released while the accompaniment music is stopped,
causes the processor to: identify all audio events in the
accompaniment music from the current play position to the next note
in the accompaniment track; implement each identified audio event
in sequence; and start playback at the next note in the
accompaniment track.
According to an aspect of an embodiment, the one or more controls
further comprise a tempo slider which, when moved, causes the
processor to: set a third music tempo to a value indicated on the
tempo slider; continue playback of the accompaniment music at the
third tempo, until the third tempo is canceled by the user; and
resume playback of the accompaniment music at the first tempo when
the third tempo is canceled by the user.
According to an aspect of an embodiment, the accompaniment
application further allows the user to create customized versions
of the accompaniment music by: saving playback alterations to the
accompaniment music made by the user; allowing the user to play
back a customized version of the accompaniment music file,
comprising the accompaniment music as altered by the playback
alterations; and allowing the user to override the playback
alterations during playback of the customized version of the
accompaniment music by using the one or more controls on the
graphical user interface.
According to an aspect of an embodiment, the system further
comprises a cloud service engine comprising at least a second
processor, a second memory, and a second plurality of programming
instructions stored in the second memory and operating on the
second processor, wherein the second programming instructions, when
operating on the second processor, cause the second processor to:
communicate with the accompaniment application; send to, and
receive from, the accompaniment application data comprising
accompaniment music and playback alterations to the accompaniment
music; display, and allow selection of, stored files by the
accompaniment application; display, and allow selection of, privacy
settings for files uploaded by the accompaniment application; and
allow sharing of, or sale of, files to other instances of the
accompaniment application owned by other users.
According to an aspect of an embodiment, peripheral devices are
used instead of, or in addition to, one or more of the controls on
the graphical user interface to control playback of the
accompaniment music.
According to an aspect of an embodiment, the one or more controls
further comprise a melody blend slider which, when moved, causes
the processor to: select a melody track within the accompaniment
music; and adjust the relative volume of the melody track and
volume of the accompaniment music without stopping playback of the
accompaniment music.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
The accompanying drawings illustrate several aspects and, together
with the description, serve to explain the principles of the
invention according to the aspects. It will be appreciated by one
skilled in the art that the particular arrangements illustrated in
the drawings are merely exemplary, and are not to be considered as
limiting of the scope of the invention or the claims herein in any
way.
FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating connections between key
components in the function of a dynamic user-controlled music
accompaniment system, according to a preferred embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating components and connections
between components in the operation of a pre-recorded vocal
accompaniment application on a phone, connecting to cloud
services.
FIG. 3 is a method diagram illustrating core functionality of a
phone operating a dynamic, modular vocal accompaniment application,
and communicating with network-enabled resources including a cloud
service engine, according to a preferred aspect.
FIG. 4 is a method diagram illustrating functionality of a dynamic,
modular accompaniment application, according to a preferred
aspect.
FIG. 5 is a method diagram illustrating functionality of a
network-enabled cloud service engine, according to a preferred
aspect.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardware
architecture of a computing device.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary logical
architecture for a client device.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an exemplary architectural
arrangement of clients, servers, and external services.
FIG. 9 is another block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardware
architecture of a computing device.
FIG. 10 shows an exemplary play screen, according to the system and
method disclosed herein.
FIG. 11 shows another exemplary play screen, according to the
system and method disclosed herein.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of data and
functionality in the application, according to an embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the note holding functionality
of a fermata button, according to an aspect of an embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the fermata start functionality
of the fermata button, according to an aspect of an embodiment.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating the functionality of an editing
control screen and preset tempo restoration gesture.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating the saving and controlling of
playback of a custom accompaniment file.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The inventor has conceived, and reduced to practice, a system and
method for delivering dynamic user-controlled musical
accompaniments.
Definitions
"Audio format" as used herein means a file or track containing a
representation of music as a sound wave. Audio files may be analog
or digital, but are more commonly digital in modern technology.
Digital audio files are digital representations of the original
sound wave, and may be encoded into a variety of formats such as
WAV, AIFF, AU, PCM, MPEG-4, WMA, and MP3.
"Audio event" as used herein means information in a music
information format file other than note information that directs a
change in the music information being played. For example, MIDI
channel messages directing pedal commands, patch changes, pitch
bends, and similar events are audio events.
"Music information format" as used herein means a file or track
containing a representation of music as information about the notes
being played, such as the pitch, duration, volume, and timing of
each note, and may include other information about the music being
played, such as the tempo, the instrument or instruments on which
the music is being played, etc. The most common form of note
information files in Musical Instrument Digital Information (MIDI)
format. A music information format file may contain multiple
tracks, each containing different music information. For example,
tracks may be divided according to the type of instruments playing,
or tracks may be divided by the type of musical parts or purpose
(e.g., an accompaniment track might contain a certain version of
the music, while a melody track contains another version). Tracks
may be played separately or in any combination.
"Thread" as used herein means an execution thread of a software
application which is assigned an operational task on the computer.
Threads are managed by the computer's operating system, and can be
run simultaneously with other threads performing different
operations.
"Thread lock" means an operating system kernel level protection to
ensure that only one thread at a time has access to certain
resources in order to prevent overlapping or conflicting access to
a resource by different threads. In some operating systems, a
thread lock is referred to as "mutex," meaning "mutual exclusion."
Thread locks have many implementations, such as binary semaphores,
spinlocks, condition locks, and ticket locks, which use thread
locks in various ways to retain exclusivity of access for certain
times or under certain conditions.
One or more different aspects may be described in the present
application. Further, for one or more of the aspects described
herein, numerous alternative arrangements may be described; it
should be appreciated that these are presented for illustrative
purposes only and are not limiting of the aspects contained herein
or the claims presented herein in any way. One or more of the
arrangements may be widely applicable to numerous aspects, as may
be readily apparent from the disclosure. In general, arrangements
are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the
art to practice one or more of the aspects, and it should be
appreciated that other arrangements may be utilized and that
structural, logical, software, electrical and other changes may be
made without departing from the scope of the particular aspects.
Particular features of one or more of the aspects described herein
may be described with reference to one or more particular aspects
or figures that form a part of the present disclosure, and in which
are shown, by way of illustration, specific arrangements of one or
more of the aspects. It should be appreciated, however, that such
features are not limited to usage in the one or more particular
aspects or figures with reference to which they are described. The
present disclosure is neither a literal description of all
arrangements of one or more of the aspects nor a listing of
features of one or more of the aspects that must be present in all
arrangements.
Headings of sections provided in this patent application and the
title of this patent application are for convenience only, and are
not to be taken as limiting the disclosure in any way.
Devices that are in communication with each other need not be in
continuous communication with each other, unless expressly
specified otherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication
with each other may communicate directly or indirectly through one
or more communication means or intermediaries, logical or
physical.
A description of an aspect with several components in communication
with each other does not imply that all such components are
required. To the contrary, a variety of optional components may be
described to illustrate a wide variety of possible aspects and in
order to more fully illustrate one or more aspects. Similarly,
although process steps, method steps, algorithms or the like may be
described in a sequential order, such processes, methods and
algorithms may generally be configured to work in alternate orders,
unless specifically stated to the contrary. In other words, any
sequence or order of steps that may be described in this patent
application does not, in and of itself, indicate a requirement that
the steps be performed in that order. The steps of described
processes may be performed in any order practical. Further, some
steps may be performed simultaneously despite being described or
implied as occurring non-simultaneously (e.g., because one step is
described after the other step). Moreover, the illustration of a
process by its depiction in a drawing does not imply that the
illustrated process is exclusive of other variations and
modifications thereto, does not imply that the illustrated process
or any of its steps are necessary to one or more of the aspects,
and does not imply that the illustrated process is preferred. Also,
steps are generally described once per aspect, but this does not
mean they must occur once, or that they may only occur once each
time a process, method, or algorithm is carried out or executed.
Some steps may be omitted in some aspects or some occurrences, or
some steps may be executed more than once in a given aspect or
occurrence.
When a single device or article is described herein, it will be
readily apparent that more than one device or article may be used
in place of a single device or article. Similarly, where more than
one device or article is described herein, it will be readily
apparent that a single device or article may be used in place of
the more than one device or article.
The functionality or the features of a device may be alternatively
embodied by one or more other devices that are not explicitly
described as having such functionality or features. Thus, other
aspects need not include the device itself.
Techniques and mechanisms described or referenced herein will
sometimes be described in singular form for clarity. However, it
should be appreciated that particular aspects may include multiple
iterations of a technique or multiple instantiations of a mechanism
unless noted otherwise. Process descriptions or blocks in figures
should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions
of code which include one or more executable instructions for
implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process.
Alternate implementations are included within the scope of various
aspects in which, for example, functions may be executed out of
order from that shown or discussed, including substantially
concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality
involved, as would be understood by those having ordinary skill in
the art.
According to an embodiment, an application on a handheld device
exists that could enable a user to select a file from a multitude
of music files and personalize it for use during singing or
playing. Such an application offers the use of a fermata option,
enabling the user to hold the playback for as long as needed, with
held notes sustaining and decaying naturally, as would happen with
a real-life accompanist, and then upon release the accompaniment
starts immediately at the next note of the accompaniment and plays
on. This fermata option may be implemented in the form of a button
or active area on the screen of the mobile device, or a button on a
wired or wireless peripheral device programmed to act as the
fermata function.
The application may also offer a slider, either on the screen or on
a physical accessory device, that enables dynamic movement and
change of the playback speed (tempo) at any time to faster or
slower speed as the piece plays. The speed may be instantaneously
reset to the default speed of the selected music file, or
instantaneously reset to another default speed as set by the user
during play. By similar physical or logical means, a user may
change the playback pitch or key to higher or lower pitch or key,
and in some cases the music file may continue from that point
onward in the new pitch. By similar physical or logical means, a
user may adjust the melody blend, that is, the mixture of volume
between the separate melody and accompaniment tracks, to raise or
lower the volume of the melody line; and the user by similar means
may reset the blend to the default blend of the piece currently
playing. This melody blend feature allows users to bring in one or
more melody lines at a volume proportion of their choosing relative
to the volume of the accompaniment, and adjust that proportion as
needed at any time during play. Users can turn the melody on or off
without stopping play, and then use the slider or sliders to choose
to hear the melody line of various parts emphasized in a variety of
octaves or instrument sounds to aid in learning.
In some embodiments, a user may save customizations of
accompaniment music files locally on a computing device for later
access. In networked embodiments, a user may save all the
customizations of the selected music files and have access to them
on any subscribed computing device for later play, and then the
user may share a saved version with comments with other users.
Further, another user could comment back to a sharing user a review
or suggestion on a shared customization. Also, a user could make an
audio recording of his voice in a separate track alongside a newly
recorded audio track from the user-controlled audio recording and
share that new audio recording of voice and piano together through
the system or save that recording outside the system. The user
could add reverb to the vocal track, adjust the volume mix between
voice and piano, and select different piano sounds. Similarly, a
user could also create a video recording, with reverb option for
sound. The user would then have options to set the volume mix
between voice and piano, select different piano sounds, and share
that video through the system or save that video recording outside
the system.
Vocal exercises could also be offered within the app in such a way
that the user controls which direction (up or down in pitch) the
repeated patterns or scales move. Direction changes could be made
by the user during play to facilitate a continuous warm-up or
exercise routine. The user could also decide to "skip" up with the
repeated scale or pattern by any number of half-steps. Vocal
exercises can also be played at any tempo without musical
distortion or degradation.
A choral version of the device could also be introduced in which
multiple melody lines can be emphasized or blended against the
accompaniment at their own volume levels such that an eight-part
choral piece (SSAATTBB, letters indicating the eight parts or
divisi, here as two each soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) could be
played through the app with all of the other play features
described herein, but also allow the Soprano 1 line to be louder in
relation to the accompaniment than the rest of the parts. Or the
1.sup.st tenors and baritones could hear their lines emphasized
together above the volume of the other parts and the accompaniment.
This choral version can also be used to facilitate duets, trios,
quartets, quintets and other ensemble pieces to be practiced and
learned using the app.
In some cases, a system may collect many MIDI files, or audio
recordings converted to suitable MIDI files, from various sources,
each file typically containing at least one pair of tracks,
typically one for accompaniment (usually a pianist) and one for
melody line, as played by instrument or piano, playing what is
written to be performed by a singer or solo instrumentalist. These
files may then be made available in a server or a cloud so a user
could play them on a handheld device, for practice and even for
performance.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in
computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.
Methods of the present disclosure can be implemented via computer
program instructions stored on one or more non-transitory
computer-readable storage devices for execution by a processor.
Likewise, various processes (or portions thereof) of the present
disclosure can be performed by a processor executing computer
program instructions. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be
implemented via one or more computer programs that are executable
on a computer system including at least one processor coupled to
receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data and
instructions to, a data storage system, at least one input device,
and at least one output device. Each computer program can be
implemented in any suitable manner, including via a high-level
procedural or object-oriented programming language and/or via
assembly or machine language. Systems of the present disclosure may
include, by way of example, both general and special purpose
microprocessors which may retrieve instructions and data to and
from various types of volatile and/or non-volatile memory. Computer
systems operating in conjunction with the embodiments of the
present disclosure may include one or more mass storage devices for
storing data files, which may include: magnetic disks, such as
internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and
optical disks. Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying
computer program instructions and data (also called the
"non-transitory computer-readable storage media") include all forms
of non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor
memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices;
magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks;
magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM disks. Any of the foregoing can
be supplemented by, or incorporated in, ASICs (application-specific
integrated circuits) and other forms of hardware.
In some cases, recordings are made or commissioned to be made in
MIDI format directly. In other cases, recordings are made as audio
recordings in other formats, which can be converted to MIDI format
later, or some other suitable audio format, which may change
depending on the current state of the art. Although conversion of
audio recordings to MIDI is less desirable because it is less
accurate, it allows for older recordings to be utilized, using an
audio conversion engine in the system. The MIDI recordings or
conversion can be done with many software tools if not a
custom-built audio-conversion engine, including but not limited to,
for example, PROLOGIC.TM., ABLETON.TM., CUBASE.TM. and
CAKEWALK.TM.. Typically, at least two tracks may be recorded, one
for the accompaniment, and one separate for the melody, so they can
be played back separately or combined.
In some cases of a user making an audio recording, the user can add
reverb to the vocal track, adjust the volume mix between voice and
piano, and select different piano sounds. A video recording option
may also be implemented with the same mixing and sharing options as
above. Additionally, a "vamp" feature could be added that would
enable the user to press and hold a button similar to fermata while
piece is playing--whatever segment of the accompaniment plays while
the button is held will be labeled as a vamp. Then in future play,
a user can press a button during that part of the accompaniment
playback to loop that selected segment as many times as desired.
Similarly, an Edit Features button could be added to allow users to
tap a Marker button at any time during the playback of a recording
to add a marker at that specific time stamp in the recording.
Markers could then be used to navigate immediately to that point in
the recording with forward or back arrows that appear to the right
and left of the play icon. Also, users could choose to create a
"cut" or "loop" section between any two markers or between the
beginning of the recording and a marker or a marker and the end of
the recording.
In some cases, a system may collect many audio files, or audio
recordings converted to suitable audio files, from various sources,
each file containing at least one pair of tracks, typically one for
accompaniment (usually a pianist) and one for melody line, as
played by instrument or piano, playing what is written to be
performed by a singer or solo instrumentalist. These files may then
be made available in a server or a cloud so a user could play them
on a handheld device, for practice and even for performance.
A marketplace system operating on a server across a network, with a
cloud services engine to operate the marketplace and social media
systems required, may exist, for the purpose of allowing users to
browse and search for audio files to utilize with the audio
accompaniment application. A social media system, similarly but
independently from a marketplace system, may exist, for the purpose
of sharing and commenting on other user's audio files, provided a
user's privacy settings allow for such.
Conceptual Architecture
FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating connections between key
components in the function of a dynamic user-controlled music
accompaniment system, according to a preferred embodiment. A
smartphone device 110 operates an accompaniment application 120,
which is a software application designed to aid vocal and choral
performers in the use of pre-recorded accompaniment tracks to a
greater degree of specificity, complexity, and customization than
is normally possible, to emulate the effect of having an actual
live accompanist present. Peripheral devices 130 including but not
limited to foot pedals, exterior buttons that may be connected
either via a wire or some wireless connection, or other peripheral
devices, may also be connected to the application 120, allowing for
more customization of the user interface, and a more "natural" use
of the application. For example, foot pedals are commonly used in
various performing arts including electric guitar playing, keyboard
or piano playing, and it is sometimes the case that choral
performers or vocal soloists may use subtle signs with their feet
or hands to indicate changes in the way the accompanying
instruments are playing, and peripheral devices may be used to more
naturally emulate this ability for a pre-recorded accompaniment. A
phone 110 operating an accompaniment application 120 may also be
connected to a network 140, such as the Internet, which connects to
at least one server 150 but potentially a plurality of servers,
operating a cloud service engine 151 which connects to an internal
datastore 152. Such servers may synchronize their internal
datastores 152 with each other, or may operate independently,
depending on a specific implementation of the system. A cloud
service engine 151 may operate a marketplace engine 250 and social
media engine 260, as illustrated in FIG. 2, for communication with
a phone 110 operating an accompaniment application 120, and
providing extended functionality, but it is possible to operate an
accompaniment application 120 without a phone 110 being connected
to any servers 150, provided no new data is required to download
for the application.
FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating components and connections
between components in the operation of a pre-recorded vocal
accompaniment application 120 on a phone 110, connecting to cloud
services. An accompaniment application 120 contains as part of its
operation, music files 210, a conversion engine 220, a playback
engine 230, and a recording engine 240, and maintains an
application-specific connection over a network 140 to servers
operating a cloud services engine 151 operating at least a
marketplace engine 250 and social media engine 260, said cloud
services 151 communicating with a datastore 152. Music files 210 as
utilized by an accompaniment application 120 may be of any format,
including MIDI, mp3, or other audio file and music information
formats, so long as they are a recognized format, such that a
conversion engine 220 may be able to convert them to a MIDI file,
or other appropriate file format. A playback engine 230 plays such
converted and therefore appropriately formatted audio files back to
a user, in a manner which allows buttons and peripheral devices 130
to alter the playback of said audio files. Such buttons may be
touch-screen enabled buttons similar to many smartphone
applications currently in use, and include, at least, a fermata
button for sustaining a held note, a tempo slider for altering the
playback speed for an audio file, a pitch slider to alter the
relative pitch of an audio file being played, a volume slider to
alter the volume mix of a melody track relative to an accompaniment
track, and a button to allow a user to specify a cut or mark in the
track to be repeated or return to in a similar manner to a bookmark
in the playback of the audio file. Functionality of such
application features is illustrated more clearly in FIG. 4. A
recording engine 240 which may record a version of the
accompaniment track, that preserves any customization or
alterations made by a user utilizing the functionality of the
playback engine 230, and may record a user's vocal performance
utilizing a microphone present in a smartphone 110 or used as a
peripheral device 130 in case a third-party microphone is utilized.
Video recording is also possible with a recording engine, again
utilizing either a camera on a smartphone 110 or a separate camera
peripheral 130, for the purpose of recording a user's performance
during playback of an accompaniment track. A cloud service engine
151 contains components including a marketplace engine 250, which
may communicate with a datastore 152 to serve an application 120
stored accompaniment tracks according to a search query 510 as
illustrated in FIG. 5, and may also allow for the selling or
purchasing or tracks recorded from an accompaniment application 120
via the customization or performance of a user of said application.
A social media engine 260 may also allow the sharing of such
recorded tracks with other users, and may also allow commenting on
such recorded files or tracks by other users, depending on the
privacy settings of the owning user. Such transactions, shares,
comments, and settings are stored in a datastore 152.
FIG. 3 is a method diagram illustrating core functionality of a
phone operating a dynamic, modular vocal accompaniment application,
and communicating with network-enabled resources including a cloud
service engine, according to a preferred aspect. First, a phone
must execute the accompaniment application 120, 310. When the
application is running, non-MIDI files of compatible file format
types, such as mp3 or other formats, may be converted to
appropriate MIDI files 320, while valid MIDI files remain, ready
for playback and customization. Playback may begin when a MIDI file
is present and selected by the user 330, with the microphone
peripheral 130 or built-in microphone of a phone 110 activating to
track the user's voice 330 during their practice or performance.
Recording of a user's voice is placed in a separate track to the
recorded tracks of the dynamically altered MIDI accompaniment
recording, and both are saved and able to be modified or uploaded
at a later date, if desired. Peripheral devices and buttons, or
only one of the two, may further be used to customize the playback
of an accompaniment track 340, which is recorded as an altered
track, allowing a user to save their modified track, close the
application, and continue from where they left off later upon
re-opening the application. Alternatively, after connecting to a
cloud service 151 operating on a network-enabled 140 server 150,
350, such saved altered tracks, as well as a user's own vocal
performance and optional video recording, may be uploaded to the
cloud service 360.
FIG. 4 is a method diagram illustrating functionality of a dynamic,
modular accompaniment application, according to a preferred aspect.
A fermata button 410 may be utilized by a user to sustain a note or
chord, similar to a musician holding a note on their instrument
until instructed otherwise, as long as the application user holds
down the button. This may be utilized with a peripheral device such
as a foot pedal, or an on-screen button on a smartphone
touchscreen. Another function allowing user customization of
pre-recorded accompaniment track playback is a touchscreen slider
allowing alteration of the pitch of the audio playback 420, which
also may be controlled with a peripheral device 130 if desired.
Such peripherals may include turning knobs on a control panel of
some variety, for example, but may include any other compatible
device capable of connecting to the smartphone. The pitch and
therefore tone of the playback may be altered in this way 420.
Another function allowing user customization of pre-recorded
accompaniment track playback is a touchscreen slider allowing
alteration of the playback tempo, with minimal or no distortion
430, merely altering the speed at which notes or chords are
sustained, and the speed at which further notes or chords are
played afterwards. Another function allowing user customization of
pre-recorded accompaniment track playback is a slider allowing a
user to alter the relative volume of the melody track to the piano
accompaniment 440, or other instrument accompaniment track, within
the MIDI audio file playback, allowing for louder or softer melody
relative to the volume of the accompaniment. Another function
allowing user customization of pre-recorded accompaniment track
playback is the use of user-placed and specified marks, or cuts, or
loop segments, allowing a user to place what are essentially
"bookmarks" in the file's playback, while also allowing for users
to repeat or "loop" specific passages in the track 450, also
allowing a user to enter into a specific passage or begin a new
track with a "fermata start" functionality if desired, whereby the
next note after the mark (or the first start after the beginning of
a track) is held, for the simulation of a cold opening for
performers to practice with 450. After alterations and
customizations to audio playback have been made, the customized
accompaniment track, as well as the user's vocal performance and
optionally video recording, the tracks are saved 460, which may be
accessed by the user at a later time for continued customization or
re-recording their performance, or simply reviewing their
performance, and may also be uploaded to a cloud service 151, 470
for sale or sharing with a marketplace engine 250 or social media
engine 260.
FIG. 5 is a method diagram illustrating functionality of a
network-enabled cloud service engine, according to a preferred
aspect. A user may search for an accompaniment track by either, or
both, genre and track name 510, utilizing a connection between a
phone 110 and accompaniment app 120 and the marketplace engine 250
operating on a network 140 enabled server 150. A track may take the
form of a MIDI file or a yet-unconverted audio file of some other
recognized format. A user may then download the specified track
520, which, after utilizing and altering the track as an
accompaniment as illustrated in FIG. 4, may be shared as an
altered, customized track 530, with privacy settings, and a price
if desired, being set 540 when shared to a marketplace engine 250
or social media engine 260. If available to another user via proper
privacy and monetary settings, a user may share and/or comment on
an uploaded track 540.
FIG. 10 shows an exemplary basic play screen 1000, according to the
system and method disclosed herein. Screen features include a song
timeline 1001; song title and other catalog information 1002;
musical key of the song 1003; melody icon 1004, showing, in this
case, that the song melody is suppressed; fermata (hold) symbol
1005; tempo slider 1006, shown here at 100 percent, with a slider
to enable tempo adjustment; and play controls 1007, including
play/pause, fast forward, and reverse.
FIG. 11 shows another exemplary play screen 1100, according to the
system and method disclosed herein. The Melody Blend feature is now
activated, as indicated by the presence of the Melody Blend slider
icon 1101 and the Octave Selection Buttons 1102. Users can now hear
a melody guide track with the volume in varying proportions to the
accompaniment, with the accompaniment music volume held constant,
the melody music volume may be adjusted from 0% to 100% by
adjusting the Melody Blend slider 1101 from left to right. Users
may click icon 1103 any time the piece is stopped to hear the next
melody note. Users can also choose one of three octaves in which
the melody plays by clicking on one of the three octaves in the
Octave Selection section 1102. The triangular button 1104 enables
users to switch the audio playback to any available audio playback
device, if they wish to, for example, connect via Wi-Fi or
Bluetooth connection to a separate audio output device.
In some embodiments, the Melody Blend slider may operate with dual
functionality as follows. The Melody Blend slider defaults to a
position in the center of the slider. When the melody slider moves
left of center, the melody track volume is decreased as the
accompaniment volume is unaffected. Conversely, when the slider
moves right of center the accompaniment volume is decreased as the
melody volume is unaffected. In another embodiment, when the melody
slider moves left of center, the melody track volume is decreased
as the accompaniment volume is increased. Conversely, when the
slider moves right of center the accompaniment volume is decreased
as the melody volume is increased. The Melody Blend slider allows
users to have full control of melody vs. accompaniment volume in a
manner that is convenient and intuitive to use while singing or
playing music. While playing with accompaniment, a musician
(including vocalists) may want to hear only the melody line, or
lots of melody against a reduced accompaniment volume. But there
are also times you might want to be able to have just a faint
melody playing with a full volume accompaniment. That's what the
new blend proportions allow.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of data and
functionality in the application, according to an embodiment.
First, a user must select at least one audio file to use as an
accompaniment 1205, but may choose multiple files, if desired. MIDI
files may be the desired format for some implementations, or some
other audio file format may be used. If any file or files chosen by
a user are not the correct format 1210, depending on what the
"correct" format may be for a given implementation, then a file may
either be converted to the appropriate format such as MIDI 1215, or
remain unconverted 1220. At this point, audio playback commences
1225, until a user specifies otherwise, using one or more of the
on-screen controls to alter the playback of the audio. If any
controls are activated 1230, what occurs next depends on the
specific control used. If a melody slider is used, the melody
volume relative to the volume of other "tracks" in the audio file
may be altered 1235. For example, it may be possible with the
melody blend slider to have a louder melody track than
accompaniment, or vice versa, for specific practice exercises or
performance requirements. After melody volume alterations take
place 1235, the flowchart refers back to playback 1225, but this is
not to indicate that playback stopped, rather to indicate the place
in the flowchart which represents what the next step may be for
functionality to continue. Unless a user specifies or a file ends
from being played to completion, audio playback does not interrupt
or end. If an activated control 1230 is instead the tempo slider,
which controls the speed and tempo at which the file plays, then
the tempo of the file playback may be altered according to user
specifications 1240. After tempo alterations are complete by the
user, the flowchart refers back to playback 1225 and awaiting
activation of other controls 1230. A further control a user may
activate 1230 is a fermata button 1245 which may allow a user to
hold the audio playback on a specific note that is played, like a
pause button that continually plays the last fraction of a second
of audio data while being paused. In this state, playback 1225 is
paused until the user releases the fermata button 1245, unlike with
other functionality such as the tempo slider or melody volume
slider. When playback is halted 1250 through the use of an actual
pause button, using a menu button to leave the playback engine, or
the playback being complete due to the audio file ending, a user
may choose whether to share the edited audio file they have created
1255, or not. In some embodiments, a playback execution thread or a
playback monitoring thread may be blocked using a condition lock
until playback is resumed. The system also stores the modified file
1280, for later use, such as re-opening the same accompaniment
file, allowing a user to pick up where they left off. If a user
chooses not to share the audio file with their alterations, they
may simply save it and then select further audio files to play
1205. If a user does, however, wish to share the altered audio file
they have constructed, they may then decide whether to sell it on a
digital marketplace 1260. If a user chooses not to sell their
altered audio file on the cloud marketplace provided, it may still
be available for social media sharing and commenting 1265, but if
they do wish to sell it on a cloud-engine enabled marketplace, it
may be listed on the marketplace for a specified price 1270, before
the application proceeds to allow a user to pick other files to
begin playing 1205, as before.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the note holding functionality
of a fermata button, according to an aspect of an embodiment. While
the accompaniment music is being played back, a user may press an
on-screen button 1310, 1005, which, when held, causes accompaniment
tempo to slow to 1/1000.sup.th of the recorded or current tempo
1320, causing the current note to continue to be played at the same
pitch and volume, but dramatically extending the duration of the
note. In this way, the note is "held" as long as the fermata button
is pressed. In some embodiments, even though the note is "held,"
the note may decay in real time (and not at 1/1000.sup.th of the
recorded or current tempo), as is the case with MIDI
implementations of the accompaniment music. It should be noted that
while the tempo is slowed in this embodiment to 1/1000.sup.th of
the current tempo, this ratio should not be considered limiting,
and other embodiments may slow the tempo in different ratios. When
the fermata button is released 1330, the application identifies
audio events (e.g., pedal commands) from the currently playing note
up to the next note in the accompaniment track 1340, gathering and
reporting every MIDI audio event up to that point, which audio
events are then sent on a command channel directly to the MIDI
engine which implements each such audio event in sequence. In this
way, before the playback begins next, the audio events including
lingering note sounds, pedal effects, distortion, and more, are all
still represented as evaluating in a smooth continuation of the
audio state prior to interruption by the fermata button, and there
is no "choppiness" from pausing to unpausing with the fermata
button, providing for smooth playback. After this evaluation 1340,
the playhead is advanced to the next note in the accompaniment
track 1350 whereby playback continues at the tempo set prior to the
fermata button press 1360. Although this example shows the audio
events/pedal commands being performed before advancement of the
playhead, an alternate embodiment would have the playhead advanced
first, and then the audio events/pedal commands being evaluated. A
crucial aspect of this method of controlling playback is that all
music events in the music information file are actually processed,
so that no skipping, crashing, or other application errors occur as
a result of missed events. A missed event is a music event that has
been skipped over entirely by simply jumping to a later note in the
music information file. This would occur, for example, if a music
event was started (e.g. a music instrument patch change, changing
the sound from a piano sound to a violin sound), playback was
skipped ahead to a later point in the music, and another music
event (e.g., a music instrument patch change back from violin to
piano) had occurred in the skipped portion of the music information
file.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the fermata start functionality
of the fermata button, according to an aspect of an embodiment.
While the audio accompaniment is not being played, the user may
press and then release the fermata button, and have the music start
playback at a pre-defined point immediately upon release of the
fermata button. In an embodiment of this functionality, while
playback of the music accompaniment is stopped, in addition to
other functionality available, the user may create a new marker for
playback, select a previously created marker, or choose not to
create, set, store, or select a marker. The creation, setting,
storing, or selection of a marker may be associated with a set
marker button separate from the fermata button. When the fermata
button is pressed 1410, the application identifies audio events
(e.g., pedal commands) from the current note (i.e. playhead
position, since music is stopped) up to the next note in the
accompaniment track 1420, gathering and reporting every MIDI audio
event up to that point, which audio events are then sent on a
command channel directly to the MIDI engine which implements each
such audio event in sequence. In this way, before the playback
begins next, the audio events including lingering note sounds,
pedal effects, distortion, and more, are all still represented as
evaluating in a smooth continuation of the audio state prior to
interruption by the fermata button, and there is no "choppiness"
from pausing to unpausing with the fermata button, providing for
smooth playback. After this evaluation, if no marker has been
selected, the playhead is advanced to the next note in the
accompaniment track 1430 after the point at which music playback
was stopped, and playback continues at the tempo set prior to the
fermata button press 1410. If a marker was created or selected, the
playhead is advanced to the next note in the accompaniment track
1430 at or after the marker, and playback continues at the tempo
set prior to the fermata button press 1410. Playback immediately
resumes at the current location of the playhead 1440. Although this
example shows the audio events/pedal commands being performed
before advancement of the playhead, an alternate embodiment would
have the playhead advanced first, and then the audio events/pedal
commands being evaluated. A crucial aspect of this method of
controlling playback is that all music events in the music
information file are actually processed, so that no skipping,
crashing, or other application errors occur as a result of missed
events. A missed event is a music event that has been skipped over
entirely by simply jumping to a later note in the music information
file. This would occur, for example, if a music event was started
(e.g. a music instrument patch change, changing the sound from a
piano sound to a violin sound), playback was skipped ahead to a
later point in the music, and another music event (e.g., a music
instrument patch change back from violin to piano) had occurred in
the skipped portion of the music information file.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating the functionality of an editing
control screen and preset tempo restoration gesture. A user may
press an "edit controls" button 1510, which results in editing
controls being displayed 1520 to a user, including a tempo slider,
fermata control, the ability to place or navigate to markers in an
accompaniment track, and so on. If a user uses a control to alter
playback 1530, the event type, as well as start time and end time
if applicable, are recorded 1540 as meta-data associated with the
accompaniment track as customization of the track playback, for
possible future use. Such meta-data may be stored in the music
information file, if the format allows for it, or may be stored in
a separate file. A user may also make a gesture on a touch-screen,
sliding "up" 1550, resulting in the tempo of an accompaniment track
being re-set to a pre-set speed 1560. Events may be recorded 1540
by creating an array of edit events in memory that are marked by
event type, start time, and stop if applicable, such as for looping
sections of a song. These events are recorded as the piece is
played, and saved locally so they are persistent. The edit events
are only active when the edit controls are shown.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating the saving and controlling of
playback of a custom accompaniment file. A user may alter the
playback of an accompaniment track 1605, with the type, time, and
duration of each event being recorded 1610 as applicable, and
during a custom accompaniment playback 1615, these events are
replicated. During custom track playback 1615, if a control is held
1620, it is checked whether it is a fermata or tempo control. If it
is a fermata control, the duration of a note may be held 1625, as
shown in earlier embodiments, until the button and control are
released 1630, resulting in subsequent events in the custom track
resuming as normal 1635. If a tempo slider is utilized during
custom accompaniment playback, events in the custom track are
ignored 1640, resuming playback as normal except for involvement of
the tempo slider, until the tempo slider is released 1645, at which
time custom events resume normally during playback from that point
1635. Custom versions of accompaniments may be implemented by
recording certain playback events 1610. The event time, type, and
duration may be recorded. When playing a custom version the
playback monitor replays these events as they appear in real time
1615. If the user taps and holds the tempo slider 1620 all custom
version events are ignored as long as the tempo slider is held
1640. As soon as the tempo slider is let go 1645 of any custom
events that subsequently appear in the timeline are played
1635.
Hardware Architecture
Generally, the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented on
hardware or a combination of software and hardware. For example,
they may be implemented in an operating system kernel, in a
separate user process, in a library package bound into network
applications, on a specially constructed machine, on an
application-specific integrated circuit ("ASIC"), or on a network
interface card.
Software/hardware hybrid implementations of at least some of the
aspects disclosed herein may be implemented on a programmable
network-resident machine (which should be understood to include
intermittently connected network-aware machines) selectively
activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in memory.
Such network devices may have multiple network interfaces that may
be configured or designed to utilize different types of network
communication protocols. A general architecture for some of these
machines may be described herein in order to illustrate one or more
exemplary means by which a given unit of functionality may be
implemented. According to specific aspects, at least some of the
features or functionalities of the various aspects disclosed herein
may be implemented on one or more general-purpose computers
associated with one or more networks, such as for example an
end-user computer system, a client computer, a network server or
other server system, a mobile computing device (e.g., tablet
computing device, mobile phone, smartphone, laptop, or other
appropriate computing device), a consumer electronic device, a
music player, or any other suitable electronic device, router,
switch, or other suitable device, or any combination thereof. In at
least some aspects, at least some of the features or
functionalities of the various aspects disclosed herein may be
implemented in one or more virtualized computing environments
(e.g., network computing clouds, virtual machines hosted on one or
more physical computing machines, or other appropriate virtual
environments).
Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a block diagram depicting
an exemplary computing device 10 suitable for implementing at least
a portion of the features or functionalities disclosed herein.
Computing device 10 may be, for example, any one of the computing
machines listed in the previous paragraph, or indeed any other
electronic device capable of executing software- or hardware-based
instructions according to one or more programs stored in memory.
Computing device 10 may be configured to communicate with a
plurality of other computing devices, such as clients or servers,
over communications networks such as a wide area network a
metropolitan area network, a local area network, a wireless
network, the Internet, or any other network, using known protocols
for such communication, whether wireless or wired.
In one embodiment, computing device 10 includes one or more central
processing units (CPU) 12, one or more interfaces 15, and one or
more busses 14 (such as a peripheral component interconnect (PCI)
bus). When acting under the control of appropriate software or
firmware, CPU 12 may be responsible for implementing specific
functions associated with the functions of a specifically
configured computing device or machine. For example, in at least
one embodiment, a computing device 10 may be configured or designed
to function as a server system utilizing CPU 12, local memory 11
and/or remote memory 16, and interface(s) 15. In at least one
embodiment, CPU 12 may be caused to perform one or more of the
different types of functions and/or operations under the control of
software modules or components, which for example, may include an
operating system and any appropriate applications software,
drivers, and the like.
CPU 12 may include one or more processors 13 such as, for example,
a processor from one of the Intel, ARM, Qualcomm, and AMD families
of microprocessors. In some embodiments, processors 13 may include
specially designed hardware such as application-specific integrated
circuits (ASICs), electrically erasable programmable read-only
memories (EEPROMs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and so
forth, for controlling operations of computing device 10. In a
specific embodiment, a local memory 11 (such as non-volatile random
access memory (RAM) and/or read-only memory (ROM), including for
example one or more levels of cached memory) may also form part of
CPU 12. However, there are many different ways in which memory may
be coupled to system 10. Memory 11 may be used for a variety of
purposes such as, for example, caching and/or storing data,
programming instructions, and the like. It should be further
appreciated that CPU 12 may be one of a variety of system-on-a-chip
(SOC) type hardware that may include additional hardware such as
memory or graphics processing chips, such as a QUALCOMM
SNAPDRAGON.TM. or SAMSUNG EXYNOS.TM. CPU as are becoming
increasingly common in the art, such as for use in mobile devices
or integrated devices.
As used herein, the term "processor" is not limited merely to those
integrated circuits referred to in the art as a processor, a mobile
processor, or a microprocessor, but broadly refers to a
microcontroller, a microcomputer, a programmable logic controller,
an application-specific integrated circuit, and any other
programmable circuit.
In one embodiment, interfaces 15 are provided as network interface
cards (NICs). Generally, NICs control the sending and receiving of
data packets over a computer network; other types of interfaces 15
may for example support other peripherals used with computing
device 10. Among the interfaces that may be provided are Ethernet
interfaces, frame relay interfaces, cable interfaces, DSL
interfaces, token ring interfaces, graphics interfaces, and the
like. In addition, various types of interfaces may be provided such
as, for example, universal serial bus (USB), Serial, Ethernet,
FIREWIRE.TM., THUNDERBOLT.TM., PCI, parallel, radio frequency (RF),
BLUETOOTH.TM., near-field communications (e.g., using near-field
magnetics), 802.11 (WiFi), frame relay, TCP/IP, ISDN, fast Ethernet
interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, Serial ATA (SATA) or
external SATA (ESATA) interfaces, high-definition multimedia
interface (HDMI), digital visual interface (DVI), analog or digital
audio interfaces, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) interfaces,
high-speed serial interface (HSSI) interfaces, Point of Sale (POS)
interfaces, fiber data distributed interfaces (FDDIs), and the
like. Generally, such interfaces 15 may include physical ports
appropriate for communication with appropriate media. In some
cases, they may also include an independent processor (such as a
dedicated audio or video processor, as is common in the art for
high-fidelity AN hardware interfaces) and, in some instances,
volatile and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., RAM).
Although the system shown in FIG. 6 illustrates one specific
architecture for a computing device 10 for implementing one or more
of the inventions described herein, it is by no means the only
device architecture on which at least a portion of the features and
techniques described herein may be implemented. For example,
architectures having one or any number of processors 13 may be
used, and such processors 13 may be present in a single device or
distributed among any number of devices. In one embodiment, a
single processor 13 handles communications as well as routing
computations, while in other embodiments a separate dedicated
communications processor may be provided. In various embodiments,
different types of features or functionalities may be implemented
in a system according to the invention that includes a client
device (such as a tablet device or smartphone running client
software) and server systems (such as a server system described in
more detail below).
Regardless of network device configuration, the system of the
present invention may employ one or more memories or memory modules
(such as, for example, remote memory block 16 and local memory 11)
configured to store data, program instructions for the
general-purpose network operations, or other information relating
to the functionality of the embodiments described herein (or any
combinations of the above). Program instructions may control
execution of or comprise an operating system and/or one or more
applications, for example. Memory 16 or memories 11, 16 may also be
configured to store data structures, configuration data, encryption
data, historical system operations information, or any other
specific or generic non-program information described herein.
Because such information and program instructions may be employed
to implement one or more systems or methods described herein, at
least some network device embodiments may include nontransitory
machine-readable storage media, which, for example, may be
configured or designed to store program instructions, state
information, and the like for performing various operations
described herein. Examples of such nontransitory machine-readable
storage media include, but are not limited to, magnetic media such
as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such
as CD-ROM disks; magneto-optical media such as optical disks, and
hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform
program instructions, such as read-only memory devices (ROM), flash
memory (as is common in mobile devices and integrated systems),
solid state drives (SSD) and "hybrid SSD" storage drives that may
combine physical components of solid state and hard disk drives in
a single hardware device (as are becoming increasingly common in
the art with regard to personal computers), memristor memory,
random access memory (RAM), and the like. It should be appreciated
that such storage means may be integral and non-removable (such as
RAM hardware modules that may be soldered onto a motherboard or
otherwise integrated into an electronic device), or they may be
removable such as swappable flash memory modules (such as "thumb
drives" or other removable media designed for rapidly exchanging
physical storage devices), "hot-swappable" hard disk drives or
solid state drives, removable optical storage discs, or other such
removable media, and that such integral and removable storage media
may be utilized interchangeably. Examples of program instructions
include both object code, such as may be produced by a compiler,
machine code, such as may be produced by an assembler or a linker,
byte code, such as may be generated by for example a JAVA.TM.
compiler and may be executed using a Java virtual machine or
equivalent, or files containing higher level code that may be
executed by the computer using an interpreter (for example, scripts
written in Python, Perl, Ruby, Groovy, or any other scripting
language).
In some embodiments, systems according to the present invention may
be implemented on a standalone computing system. Referring now to
FIG. 7, there is shown a block diagram depicting a typical
exemplary architecture of one or more embodiments or components
thereof on a standalone computing system. Computing device 20
includes processors 21 that may run software that carry out one or
more functions or applications of embodiments of the invention,
such as for example a client application 24. Processors 21 may
carry out computing instructions under control of an operating
system 22 such as, for example, a version of MICROSOFT WINDOWS.TM.
operating system, APPLE OSX.TM. or iOS.TM. operating systems, some
variety of the Linux operating system, ANDROID.TM. operating
system, or the like. In many cases, one or more shared services 23
may be operable in system 20, and may be useful for providing
common services to client applications 24. Services 23 may for
example be WINDOWS.TM. services, user-space common services in a
Linux environment, or any other type of common service architecture
used with operating system 21. Input devices 28 may be of any type
suitable for receiving user input, including for example a
keyboard, touchscreen, microphone (for example, for voice input),
mouse, touchpad, trackball, or any combination thereof. Output
devices 27 may be of any type suitable for providing output to one
or more users, whether remote or local to system 20, and may
include for example one or more screens for visual output,
speakers, printers, or any combination thereof. Memory 25 may be
random-access memory having any structure and architecture known in
the art, for use by processors 21, for example to run software.
Storage devices 26 may be any magnetic, optical, mechanical,
memristor, or electrical storage device for storage of data in
digital form (such as those described above, referring to FIG. 6).
Examples of storage devices 26 include flash memory, magnetic hard
drive, CD-ROM, and/or the like.
In some embodiments, systems of the present invention may be
implemented on a distributed computing network, such as one having
any number of clients and/or servers. Referring now to FIG. 8,
there is shown a block diagram depicting an exemplary architecture
30 for implementing at least a portion of a system according to an
embodiment of the invention on a distributed computing network.
According to the embodiment, any number of clients 33 may be
provided. Each client 33 may run software for implementing
client-side portions of the present invention; clients may comprise
a system 20 such as that illustrated in FIG. 7. In addition, any
number of servers 32 may be provided for handling requests received
from one or more clients 33. Clients 33 and servers 32 may
communicate with one another via one or more electronic networks
31, which may be in various embodiments any of the Internet, a wide
area network, a mobile telephony network (such as CDMA or GSM
cellular networks), a wireless network (such as WiFi, WiMAX, LTE,
and so forth), or a local area network (or indeed any network
topology known in the art; the invention does not prefer any one
network topology over any other). Networks 31 may be implemented
using any known network protocols, including for example wired
and/or wireless protocols.
In addition, in some embodiments, servers 32 may call external
services 37 when needed to obtain additional information, or to
refer to additional data concerning a particular call.
Communications with external services 37 may take place, for
example, via one or more networks 31. In various embodiments,
external services 37 may comprise web-enabled services or
functionality related to or installed on the hardware device
itself. For example, in an embodiment where client applications 24
are implemented on a smartphone or other electronic device, client
applications 24 may obtain information stored in a server system 32
in the cloud or on an external service 37 deployed on one or more
of a particular enterprise's or user's premises.
In some embodiments of the invention, clients 33 or servers 32 (or
both) may make use of one or more specialized services or
appliances that may be deployed locally or remotely across one or
more networks 31. For example, one or more databases 34 may be used
or referred to by one or more embodiments of the invention. It
should be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art that
databases 34 may be arranged in a wide variety of architectures and
using a wide variety of data access and manipulation means. For
example, in various embodiments one or more databases 34 may
comprise a relational database system using a structured query
language (SQL), while others may comprise an alternative data
storage technology such as those referred to in the art as "NoSQL"
(for example, HADOOP CASSANDRA.TM., GOOGLE BIGTABLE.TM., and so
forth). In some embodiments, variant database architectures such as
column-oriented databases, in-memory databases, clustered
databases, distributed databases, or even flat file data
repositories may be used according to the invention. It will be
appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art that any
combination of known or future database technologies may be used as
appropriate, unless a specific database technology or a specific
arrangement of components is specified for a particular embodiment
herein. Moreover, it should be appreciated that the term "database"
as used herein may refer to a physical database machine, a cluster
of machines acting as a single database system, or a logical
database within an overall database management system. Unless a
specific meaning is specified for a given use of the term
"database", it should be construed to mean any of these senses of
the word, all of which are understood as a plain meaning of the
term "database" by those having ordinary skill in the art.
Similarly, most embodiments of the invention may make use of one or
more security systems 36 and configuration systems 35. Security and
configuration management are common information technology (IT) and
web functions, and some amount of each are generally associated
with any IT or web systems. It should be understood by one having
ordinary skill in the art that any configuration or security
subsystems known in the art now or in the future may be used in
conjunction with embodiments of the invention without limitation,
unless a specific security 36 or configuration system 35 or
approach is specifically required by the description of any
specific embodiment.
FIG. 9 shows an exemplary overview of a computer system 40 as may
be used in any of the various locations throughout the system. It
is exemplary of any computer that may execute code to process data.
Various modifications and changes may be made to computer system 40
without departing from the broader scope of the system and method
disclosed herein. Central processor unit (CPU) 41 is connected to
bus 42, to which bus is also connected memory 43, nonvolatile
memory 44, display 47, input/output (I/O) unit 48, and network
interface card (NIC) 53. I/O unit 48 may, typically, be connected
to keyboard 49, pointing device 50, hard disk 52, and real-time
clock 51. NIC 53 connects to network 54, which may be the Internet
or a local network, which local network may or may not have
connections to the Internet. Also shown as part of system 40 is
power supply unit 45 connected, in this example, to a main
alternating current (AC) supply 46. Not shown are batteries that
could be present, and many other devices and modifications that are
well known but are not applicable to the specific novel functions
of the current system and method disclosed herein. It should be
appreciated that some or all components illustrated may be
combined, such as in various integrated applications, for example
Qualcomm or Samsung system-on-a-chip (SOC) devices, or whenever it
may be appropriate to combine multiple capabilities or functions
into a single hardware device (for instance, in mobile devices such
as smartphones, video game consoles, in-vehicle computer systems
such as navigation or multimedia systems in automobiles, or other
integrated hardware devices).
In various embodiments, functionality for implementing systems or
methods of the present invention may be distributed among any
number of client and/or server components. For example, various
software modules may be implemented for performing various
functions in connection with the present invention, and such
modules may be variously implemented to run on server and/or client
components.
The skilled person will be aware of a range of possible
modifications of the various embodiments described above.
Accordingly, the present invention is defined by the claims and
their equivalents.
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